


Enough

by yukiawison



Category: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Prom fic, waiter!Achilles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-05-10
Packaged: 2018-03-29 22:31:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3913075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yukiawison/pseuds/yukiawison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Patroclus! Hey Patroclus wait!"</p>
<p>I turned. It was raining and I didn't have an umbrella. My idiot boyfriend was sprinting toward me in his track shorts and sopping wet t-shirt that clung to his chest.</p>
<p>"Pat are you free tomorrow?" His face was flushed, but he wasn't panting. Most people would be winded after running the length of a football field in the mud--I know I would--but not my Achilles. The other boys on the track team called after him, rolling their eyes from beneath the covered slab of concrete where they customarily took refuge from the elements.</p>
<p>"Um, yes?" They were all staring at us, and my sweater was soaking through, though not as noticeably as his t-shirt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Enough

"Patroclus! Hey Patroclus wait!"

I turned. It was raining and I didn't have an umbrella. My idiot boyfriend was sprinting toward me in his track shorts and sopping wet t-shirt that clung to his chest.

"Pat are you free tomorrow?" His face was flushed, but he wasn't panting. Most people would be winded after running the length of a football field in the mud--I know I would--but not my Achilles. The other boys on the track team called after him, rolling their eyes from beneath the covered slab of concrete where they customarily took refuge from the elements.

"Um, yes?" They were all staring at us, and my sweater was soaking through, though not as noticeably as his t-shirt.

He grinned, shaking his golden hair like a dog. "It's supposed to be nice tomorrow. I thought we could eat lunch in the park."

I sighed. "We're still out here in the rain because you wanted to ask me out? You could've texted me."

"If I texted you I couldn't do this," he leaned in to kiss me, curling an arm around my waist and pulling me close.

"I'll see you tomorrow then? 12:30?"

I let out a breath. "Fine, fine, now get back to your army idiot," I said, gesturing to the flock of track boys grinning and whistling at us.

"Love you too Pat."

He pecked me on the cheek and turned to the other boys, winking exaggeratedly, before flying back on his swift feet.

***

"You made sandwiches?" I was surprised. I didn't think I'd seen Achilles in a kitchen the ten years I'd known him. We were laying in the sunshine on Achilles's patched picnic blanket. I had rolled on my side to keep the light from searing my retinas. He was braving the sun, tanned cheeks flushing to pink.

"It's bread and lunch meat Patroclus, why are you so surprised?" He looked over to me then, and my pulse quickened. It always did that, no matter how many times he looked at me with that peculiar gaze.

I narrowed my eyes. "What's wrong, tell me."

He sat up, looking at me nervously. "Why does there have to be something wrong?" He said, feigning irritation. I knew him too well.

"There doesn't, but there is. Tell me, you tell me everything."

"We'll be out of high school soon."

My throat went dry. "Yes?"

"And," he looked down. "We'll be apart. I don't expect you to follow me to college." He said it like he wished I would. But Achilles was fair; he was realistic.

"I wasn't planning to," I muttered.

"Of course," He picked up his sandwich, inspecting it closely before setting it down. "You could get into any medical program you wanted to."

"I don't know about that but..."

"Oh quit it, you're the best of Myrmidon High."

I chewed on my lip. "Are you worried? We might be far apart."

His eyes met mine, scanning my face for a way to proceed. "We can always visit, and call, or write," he grinned wildly. "Passionate love letters," he said, nudging me.

"So what are you worried about Achilles? Why the sandwiches?"

He rolled onto his stomach, looking out at the rest of the park, kids doing cartwheels, little leaguers sliding in the dust, students reading in the lush grass of the epitome of spring days.

"You're not going to forget me when you're gone are you? You're not going to fall for some dashing doctor who can run faster than me?" He said it like a joke, but the tightening of his jaw showed his usual jealousy.

"No one can ran faster than you."

"Pat, you know what I..."

I cut him off with a kiss. And by the way he kissed me back I could tell he didn't mind the interruption.

"No, I'm not going to forget about you. You're worried for nothing. If anyone's going to be forgotten it's me."

"What are you talking about, I'm not going to forget you."

"Track star, first chair violin and expert harpist, shoe in for every leadership or civic duty scholarship...Achilles the world is your oyster."

"And yours Pat."

I shook my head. "Why are you even thinking about this? I haven't even applied yet."

"My mom."

I tensed. Achilles's mother didn't like me. "What happened?"

"She doesn't want me to go to music school. She wants me to get a track scholarship, to get out of here and far away."

"From me," I said softly.

"I'm not going to," he said fiercely. "I'm going to be a musician and I'm going to be with you."

I flushed, moving closer to him, filling in the space in his arms. I closed my eyes, and he pressed kisses to my neck, and even if we were destined to be apart, we were destined to find our way back to each other.

***  
“So what are you doing for prom?” Briseis slid into the seat beside me, bangles clattering on the counter. She reached for my coffee and took a sip.

My eyes were still focused on my computer screen. My lab report took precedence over prom. “I don’t know, what are you doing?” I asked, still not looking up.

“Oh I was thinking of taking Achilles and making out with him on your locker.”

“You what?!” My head shot up, and I nearly knocked the coffee out of her hands.

“Now you look up, geez Pat. I’m going with friends. Has Achilles asked you yet?”

“We haven’t talked about it,” I said, scowling at her.

“Well you have to go,” she said. “You’ve been working yourself to death lately.”

“Well I’ll take a break,” I said, typing furiously, “Once I’m in a pre-med program."

"Oh don't be ridiculous, Achilles is a shoe in for prom king. Don't you want to see him in that dopy crown?"

I tilted my head to one side, picturing it.

"You're liking what you're daydreaming aren't you?"

"Shut up," I said, grabbing at my coffee.

The bell on the front door jingled. "I thought you might be here." I basically lived at crumby coffee shops so it wasn't hard.

"Achilles, we were just talking about you."

"All bad things I hope," he said slyly, taking a seat next to me.

"Actually we were talking about..." I cut Briseis off.

"About finals. You...and finals."

"Ugh, can you talk about anything else Pat?"

He looked up at the counter. "You too want anything? I mean of course Pat wants a brownie, but anything else?"

"I'll take a vanilla latte," Briseis said, relinquishing my coffee cup at last. "And Patroclus could use another one of these."

Achilles nodded, and headed over to the steadily growing line.

"What'd you do that for?" She asked hotly, her dark brows furrowing.

"Knowing him, he's probably forgotten there is a prom." He could be clueless like that sometimes.

"Which is why we need to remind him."

"Or let this whole prom thing blow over."

"You're ridiculous. C'mon, I'll be there looking ravishing, and you and Ace over there can get all mushy during the slow songs, and then hook up in his car..."

"We wouldn't..."

She smirked, velvety shade of lipstick accentuating the movement. "It'll be fun okay? You need some fun."

Achilles soon returned and the conversation was put on hold indefinitely.

In truth I didn't want to think about prom. I didn't want to think about the future, when he wasn't right beside me, when he couldn't hold me close on the dance floor. I knew we were going to be apart, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

"So what were you and Briseis really talking about?" He said, after she had left.

"What do you mean?" I sputtered nervously. "We weren't talking about..."

"I know you Pat, and I know Briseis. She's had her eyes on prom queen for weeks."

"And you?" I muttered.

"I," he said, leaning over my laptop and pressing a kiss to my neck "Will be going only if you're going." He surveyed my lab, nodding approvingly.

I didn't say anything, but he could see my not so subtle little smile. He liked that smile.

"I've gotta take off, but think about it okay?"

"I will," I said.

***  
He found me perched on the dryer in my laundry room. It was my usual reading spot. "You found me," I smiled. "Take a seat. The washer's all yours."

"I got a job," Achilles's expression was so bright I didn't know what to say.

"Yeah? I didn't know you were job hunting."

He paled. I frowned. "What's wrong this time?"

"My mother," he started, looking to the ground. His feet thumped against the washer. "She's not going to pay for music school."

"What?" I hopped off the dryer and pressed up against the washer, between his legs. "Why?"

"I can't run track at the school I want. She's not paying unless I commit to track."

"That's ridiculous! Can't she see how fantastic you are?" I paused. "And there's no way you can do both?"

His eyes were fiery. "For once I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to give up what I want to please her. I don't want to be the person she wants me to be," he snapped. "I want to be the person I want to be...the person you want me to be."

"I want you to be happy."

"And I am," he kissed me.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? Working I mean?"

"What do you mean? You've been working since you were 12."

"I'm a foster kid who wants to go to medical school Achilles. You are Mr. Golden Boy who's never worked a lowly minimum wage day in his life."

"You're saying I can't do it?" His jaw clenched and I didn't know whether to feel guilty or turned on.

"No," I kissed him. "I didn't say that. Where is this job anyway?"

"Go-Go Diner."

"Go-Go Diner?"

"Y'know, the one on third street..."

"Where the waiters wear those adorable hats and bring you your food on roller skates?"

"That's the one." I pictured my blonde muscly boyfriend carrying milkshakes on his pastel roller skates. It was endearing.

"I'm going to save as much as I can from now on. I've got some money in the bank, and I can get scholarships and..." His hands were twitching.

"Achilles, it's okay. You're going to be okay."

His face was still pale. "You think?"

I was surprised sometimes, at how much he cared about my opinion.

"I know."

***  
Achilles was sliding down the bannister. He was literally sliding down the library bannister to meet me. He had daffodils. He knew I loved daffodils.

"Patroclus," of course he waited until the eyes of every studying student were on us. "Will you go to prom with me?"

"Yes, Achilles," I replied, heart pounding. "I'll go to prom with you. You big sweet idiot." And people were clapping. People always clapped for Achilles. And then he was scooping me up bridal style, because he had to be extravagant. And my face was turning every shade of red.

"I have captured thee Patroclus," he said, voice matching his lofty expression. He saluted the other library patrons and pushed open the heavy oak doors with his back. Briseis was somewhere between hysterical laughter and the world's most dramatic eye rolling.

"Put me down," I said, swatting his shoulder.

"Are you done studying?"

"For the time being..." I said slowly.

"Let me take you to my work," he said. "I'll buy you a milkshake?"

I groaned. "Well I can't say no to that."

***  
"How is it that he doesn't look stupid? You throw anyone else in that outfit and roll them around on skates and they look ridiculous, but Achilles..."

"Is Achilles. I don't know. I'm calling it a supernatural phenomenon because he used to choose the crappiest Halloween costumes, and he still turned out looking like the cutest kid mankind has ever seen," I replied, exaggerating only mildly.

Briseis was right though. Anyone else would look stupid in that uniform: toothpaste green pants rolled up at the ends so they wouldn't obscure the matching skates, little white apron with a big pocket and the bright Go-Go Diner logo written in peach colored text, with a green and peach striped shirt to tie the gaudy ensemble together. He was pretty good on roller skates. He didn't stick his arms out for balance like the other waiters, who flailed with trays of fries and ice water, making everyone within a 10 foot radius flinch.

Naturally, Achilles was already a customer favorite. Dreamy eyed middle school girls were already fawning on him, batting their eyes while he refilled their drinks.

He brought me a milkshake I hadn't ordered, leaning his elbows on the counter for balance. He watched me as I took a sip. "It's my own creation, what do you think?"

"I think you mixed up fig newtons, chocolate syrup, Swedish fish, and strawberry ice cream, and expected it to be good because you love all those things."

"God Ace," Briseis recoiled. "Are you trying to poison him?"

"It's good!" He replied, looking slightly taken aback.

"So you're doing alright here?"

He tilted his head to one side. "At the diner? Of course."

I thought about Thetis waiting for him to come home and follow her orders again. Instead he would come home tired, in a ketchup stained uniform. Achilles was a fighter, and he'd show her he could choose his own path. I just wished he didn't have to.

"It's not half bad, here Achilles, share it with me," a small smile curled on his lips and he took a sip.

***  
I was not crediting Briseis.

The prom only had four slow songs, two of which Achilles was dragged away for by yearbook photographers who wanted exclusive shots of the prom king. He'd won by a long shot, a long long shot, and Briseis had accepted her title in her own section of the spotlight.

The punch was too watery, and my tie was too tight. That's how we ended up in his car, not because of Ms. Prom Queen's predictions.

"Achilles," I mumbled, as he fiddled with my shirt buttons.

"It's a little cliche I know," he replied, as my hands found his waist. "But you want this right?"

"Of course," I breathed. "Of course I...Achilles?" It hit me like a punch.

"Yeah?" I could hardly see him in the dark, inches from my face, his green eyes were dark blurs, teeth shining as his mouth quirked up. "Everything okay?"

"No."

He got off of me, motioning for me to move over so he could lay beside me in the cramped backseat of his car. "Car sex not your thing?"

"It's not that, it's just...we danced two slow songs."

"And?"

"And neither of them meant a thing."

He frowned. "Pat that's not true. You liked that one, the one with the chorus that...what's your point?"

I sat up, not wanting to look at him. "It should've been special."

"We're juniors, there's next year."

"Next year you'll be even further away." I didn't realize what I meant until I'd said it.

He sat up and leaned his head on my shoulder. "I shouldn't have mentioned the college thing. We still have time."

"Not much time."

"Enough," he said. "If you're here it's enough."

We sat there for awhile, listening to the chatter of our classmates inside, looking up at the too bright stars, eating the Sour Patch Kids Achilles swiped from Briseis. And he was right, in that moment, it was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm looking for TSOA fic recs. If anyone has any feel free to comment.


End file.
